"I find it clearer, and there is less opportunity to be misquoted when written responses are given," he said.

His request for written questions and the opportunity to write in response is unusual for Lagasse or any council member, for that matter. But the legislative auditor's report itself is an unusual matter.

Released to the public on Monday, the report rips the handling of the arts center project, which has seen enormous cost overruns pile up since breaking ground in February 2007. What began as a $26.5 million project has reached $44.7 million and threatens to jump past its $52 million cap, according to the report.

Lagasse bore a mention in at least one particular incident in the report: the genesis of the project's fifth change order, which added $5.6 million to its budget. After the Engineering Department said $2.8 million could cover the cost of extra time and work, then-Parish President Aaron Broussard's top aide, Tim Whitmer, requested the change order be filled at twice that amount, according to the report. Whitmer later told the legislative auditor that he acted at Lagasse's behest.

The Times-Picayune sent written questions on Monday to Lagasse, for a story it published Tuesday. Lagasse responded Thursday. While he didn't directly address the report's findings, his response appeared to distance him from all the goings-on surrounding the performing arts center. He put most of the blame with the council members and parish president who preceded his time in office. He disavowed any influence over Whitmer's orders.

"I have never been Mr. Whitmer's supervisor," he wrote. "He reported directly to the parish president."

Of the elected officials still serving since 2004, Lagasse joins council Chairman Chris Roberts and Parish President John Young, a former council member, in responding to the newspaper's questions about the legislative auditor's report. Councilmen Byron Lee and Louis Congemi haven't returned messages left seeking comment.